Fully automatically operating machine for filling bags of all types



Oct. 30, 1956 H. HCfiLLER 3 FULLY AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS OF ALL TYPES Filed June 29, 1954 4 Shaets Sheet 1 FIG! A INVENTOR ///I/V.5 A62 4! Oct. 30, 1956 H. HC5LLER 2,768,493

FULLY AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS OF ALL TYPES Filed June 29, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ##Ms $249? BY Oct. 30, 1956 Q R 2,268,493 v FULLY AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS OF ALL TYPES Fil ed June. 29, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 30, 1956 HQ 2,768,493

FULLY AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING MACHINE FOR FILLING BAGS OF ALL TYPES Filed June 29, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 III! FULLY AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING MA- CHINE FOR FILLING BAGS OF ALL TYPES Hans Holler, Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany, assignor to the firm: Gebruder Holler Maschinenfabrik, Bergisch- Gladbach, Germany Application June 29, 195%, Serial No. 440,189

6 Claims. (Cl. 58-3859 This application is a continuation in part of my copending application Serial Number 312,708, filed Oct. 2, 1952, now abandoned.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a structurally improved and simplified machine of the type set forth, wherein the bag feeding opening and filling mechanisms or stations are all under pneumatic and aerodynamic control by an air pump and blower unit, acting upon the bags to be fed into the machine by suction, and by opening the bags to be filled by compressed air.

Other objects contemplated and advantages achieved by the present invention are disclosed in the specification, and will be more fully understood by those skilled in the art from the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of an example.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view, diagrammatically showing the machine as seen from above,

Figure 2 is an elevationpartly in section--taken in the direction of the arrow II of Figure 1,

tates Patent Patented Oct. 30, 1956 with the blower 1 is not shown in the drawing. The casing 3, being preferably a one-piece casing, has on its top an octagonal platform 3a, and in its lower part a thick-walled tube 73 through which the suction pipe 2 is passed; the tube 73 is rotatably fixed within a flanged bearing 74, which is supported by the machine frame '74.

For the rotation of the casing 3 there is fixed underneath the flanged bearing 74 on the thick-walled tube '73 a ratchet wheel mechanism 75, in a notch of which there is a shift ring 76 (Figure 6), having a sector shaped enlargement; on the latter a shifterpawl 77 is fixed laterally by a stay bolt, for actuation by a draw bar 79 having a bifurcated end 78 linked thereto.

By means of a pair bevel gear wheels 80 (Figure 2), a crank 82 lying above the bearing 81 is rotated, whereby the drawbar 79 is reciprocated, since the end 83 of the drawbar is mounted on a crank 82.

By the shifter pawl 77 said reciprocations of the drawbar 79 are transmitted as intermittent rotations acting in clockwise direction, and will turn around the casing 3 through angles of 90.

The chambers 4, 5, 6, and 7, referred to above, are

I fixed below the upper octagonal platform 3a of the Figure 3 is another elevation of the machine-partly in section, and viewed in the direction of the arrow iii of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is an elevation of the suction and blower unit and the pipe lines connectedtherewith,

Figure 5 is a section on line V--V of Figure 4, and

Figure 6 is a plan showing the central rotating mechanism.

The bag filling machine shown and described is of a turntable type known in the art, having a rotary carrier or casing in the centre of the machine for taking around the bags in quarter circular steps of movements to feeding, opening, filling and delivering mechanism and is equipped according to the invention with an air pump and blower, and accessorial parts, cooperatively so associated within and without the turntable that the folded bags, even such with gusseted, square or rectangular bottom and bellows folds in their sides are forcibly dealt with, namely, blown open by compressed air in their travel through the machine.

According to the invention, a suction pipe 2 is connected with an air pump and a blower 1 (Figure 4) and arranged coaxially within a rotatable casing 3, provided with chambers 4, 5, 6, and 7 (Figure 5) at right angles to one another. The connection of the suction pipe 2 rotatable casing 3 (Figs. 2 and 4); they are open on both sides, so that, as seen in Figure 5, the chambers 4 and 5 are in direct connection with corresponding openings 8 and 9 provided in the suction pipe 2. As shown in Figure 2, a flap 12, provided with a lever 11 and pivoted at the hinge It lies in front of the opening 8 of the suction chamber. The flap 12 is held against the opening 8 of the suction pipe 2 by a pin 14 pressing on the lever 11, against the action of a spring i3 engaging the lever 11, thus closing the opening 8. it the pressure on the pin 14 is reduced, the flap 12 is swung about the hinge 10 by the spring 13 and assumes the position shown in Figure 2 in dotted lines, in which position the opening 8 is uncovered. The pin 14 is operated by a lever 99, pivoted at 98, which is positively controlled by a cam disc 100.

Opposite the chamber 4 a container 15 is arranged in which the bags to be filled are accommodated in a stack 16.

The bag container 15 (Figure 2) is fixed on a pair of round bars 60, by which its level or height can be conveniently adjusted, in a lever 61, having two parallel bore holes for said bars and being capable of being reciprocated around the bolt or pivot 62. A bar 63 is pivotally linked with its front end 64 at the outer end of lever 61, and is reciprocated by an actuating lever 65, which can be swung around bearing 66 by a cross piece 67. The operating lever 65 has a roller 68 running upon a cam disc 69. A draw spring 76, fixed at a spring bar 71 of actuating lever 65, will keep the roller 68 in permanent engagement with the cam disc 69.

Disposed in front of the chamber 5 there is a device for opening the bag, shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. This device comprises a swingable mouth-piece 18, which is connected to the pressure pipe line 17 of the blower 1, and also its suction pipe line 19, and a collar 20 which abuts against the wall of the casing 3.

The blow-pipe mouthpiece 18 is fixed upon a hinged pipe 89; an actuating lever 90, provided with a roller 91, is in engagement with a cam disc 92. A connecting bar 93, linked to the actuating lever 99 will shift the blow pipe mouthpiece 18 to and fro in the direction of the stroke imparted by cam disc 92, reciprocating it by a crank 94, which is rigidly fixed at the upper end of the connecting bar 93.

Disposed opposite to the chamber 6 as shown in Fig. 2 is the bag filling device 22, which consists of a container 22a, a filling pipe 23, a suction pipe 24 for opening the 2,7es,49a

bag, and a spreading finger 25 serving the same purpose. The spreading finger or strut-lever 25 is fixed in a hinge attached to the bag filling pipe or funnel 23; after the suction pipe 24 has at least partially opened the bag, an actuating lever 96, operated by the cam 95 through its pressure upon the arm 97, will turn the spreading finger 25 outwardly, whereby the bag will be opened completely so as to assume a rectangular form.

An endless conveyer belt 26, as shown. in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, is arranged in front of the chamber 7.

Hooks or grippers 30, 31 and 32, 33 disposed in crosswise relationship to one another and mounted on the platform 3a of the casing 3, are used to hold the bags to assure their rotation with the casing. Each ofthe opposed hooks constituting a pair are connected together, the hooks 30 and 31 by a connecting rod 34, and the hooks 32 and 33 by a connecting rod 35. The hooks and rods are so interconnected, that as seen in Figures 2 and 3, only one of each pair of the oppositely disposed hooks is in the bag holding position at any time.

As seen in Figure 3 of the drawing, a crank 85 is rigidly connected to the grippers 33, and a lever 84 bears against said crank whereby the gripper 33 is radially lifted, thus releasing a filled bag 36c which drops on the conveyer belt 26, while at the same time the hook or gripper 32, under positive control through connecting bar 35, is lowered, thus pressing the bag 36a with its side adjacent to the rotatable casing 3, against the latter and keeping it in place.

A draw spring 86 prevents the hooks or grippers 32 and 33 from being opened and closed inadvertedly.

It will be seen, that each pair of hooks or grippers which are cooperatively interconnected, can only be operated by lever 84, which is pivotally fixed at 87 and is controlled by its engagement with a cam disc 88.

The machine operates as follows:

The container 15, in which the bags are substantially vertically accommodated, is conveyed as described above so as to assume a position in front of the chamber 4. The flap or valve 12 is opened by the pin 14, so that chamber 4 being connected through the suction pipe 2 to the air pump and blower 1, is subjected to a vacuum and will extract by suction a bag from the stack 16, holding the bag 36in front of the opening of the chamber 4 by suction, as seen in Figure 2, while the hook 30 is raised and not in contact with the bag 36. The casing 3 is now turned, as described above, through an angle of 90, and the flap 12 is closed by the pin 14 operated by the lever 99 and the cam disc 100 as described. The chamber shown at 4 in Figure will then move to the position of chamber 5 of Figure 5. The bag lying in front of the chamber 4 in Figure 2, shown therein at 36, will also remain in front of this chamber until it is filled and delivered to the conveyer belt 26.

As shown in Figure 5, the suction pipe 2 is connected with the chamber 5 by the opening 9. As the chamber 4 is cut-off from the suction pipe by the flap 12, the whole vacuum is effective on the chamber 5 so that the bag 36 is firmly held in front of this chamber.

By the action of the suction pipe 19 (see Figure 3) lying above the mouth of the bag 36, the side of the bag 36:: remote from the wall of the casing, is drawn away by suction while the upper part of the bag is opened. Immediately after this opening operation the hook 32 moves down and retains the bag 36 mechanically, whereupon the mouthpiece 18 will be swung into the bag. The suction air is now cut-off. The bag is blown open by the air emanating from the mouthpiece 18, the bag 36a is held in position by the wall of the casing 3 on the one hand and by the collar 20 on the other hand, so that the compressed air becomes fully effective. 1

In case the bottom of the bag remains folded it can be opened by means of a finger-like lever 21, so that the hook 32 as the bag during a further turn of the casing through ceases to be under the influence of the suction. The chamber, in front of which the bag is located, now assumes the position indicated at 6 in Figure 5, in which the bag 36b lies below the filling pipe 23 of the filling device 22.

The side of the bag remote from the casing is again drawn away by the suction pipe 24 and retained in this position by the spreading finger 25, so that the filling funnel 23 is directed into the bag 36b. After filling the bag 36b, the casing is again turned through 90 and the chamber 6 now assumes the position indicated at 7 in Figure 5.. The hook 33 is raised, so that the bag 36c drops on to the conveyer belt 26.

The air pump and blower 1 is used for producing suc lion in the pipe 2, in the chambers 4 and 5 as well as in the suction pipes 19 and 24, and furthermore producing compressed air which is blown through the mouthpiece 18 for opening the bag; the blower l is cooperatively connected with the chambers 4, 5 by pipes and other conduits in the following manner, Disposed on the suction side of the blower 1 are the interconnected connecting pipes 40, 41 and 42 and on the pressure side the connecting pipe 43. The connecting pipe 49 is connected with the suction pipe 2; the connecting piece 41 is connected with the suction piece 19 by a pipe 44 and by pipe 45 with the suction piece 24. The tlap 46 is disposed in the connecting pipe and the flap 48 in the connecting pipe 42. The flaps 46 and 48 are interconnected by rod 49, hinged thereon, and are thus mutually controlled in a positive manner. A pressure connecting pipe 43 is opened and closed by a flap 50 and thus permits air to escape into the outer atmosphere. When the flap 50 is closed, the compressed air flows into the pipe 51, in which a flap 52 is provided for its opening and closing. The flaps 5t] and 52 are positively controlled by a rod 53 linked thereto. The pipe 17 is connected to the pipe 51. The actuation of the flaps 46 and 48 and 50 and 52 respectively which are connected by rods 49 and 53, is effected by means of the levers 54 and 55, which are linked on the one hand to the flaps 46 and 5- respectively, and on the other hand, are connected with followers 56 and 57 moved by a cam 119 rotating on the shaft 111.

The blower device shown in Figure 4 cooperates with the devices of the machine according to the invention shown in Figures 1 to 3 and 5 in the following manner:

Whenever a bag has been extracted by suction from the stack. 16 while the flap 12 of the suction pipe 2 is open, the flap 46 is closed and the flap 48 is open. Air may enter through the bore provided in the closure flange 53 shown in Fig. 4, in order to prevent a complete throttling of the blower. Thus the flap 52 is closed, the flap 50 however is open, so that compressed air may escape into the outer atmosphere.

Whenever the casing is rotated together with a bag extracted by suction from the stack 16, so that the bag may be filled in a second operation, then the flap 48 closes and the flap 46 closes, so that air is sucked from the pipes 44 and 45; the flap 50 is then open. whilst the flap 52 is closed. Then the mouthpiece 18 is moved into the opened bag. the flap 46 closes and the flap 43 opens. Whilst in the pressure pipe the flap 50 closes and the flap 52 has opened, so that compressed air can enter the bag, which has been opened at the top through the mouthpiece 18, which has been lowered into the bag in order to open the latter completely.

It will be seen, that the machine redesigned according to the invention offers the advantage, that it is wholly controlled and operated by a blower and air pump.

By closing the flap 12 the suction of the blower produces the full effect wherever it is required, thus, for example, for opening the bag,

The provision of the suction device with mechanical grippers or hooks is particularly useful, as otherwise the retaining of a filled bag by suction may result in that, in the event of a bursting, the contents of it get into the blower. This however is impossible in the machine redesigned according to the invention, as the bags to be filled are not retained by the suction of the blower, but by hooks.

What I claim is:

1. An envelope filling machine comprising a frame, arcuately disposed feeding, opening, filling and discharging mechanism mounted on said frame, a rotary carrier having four radial chambers each having inner and outer radial ports displaced from corresponding ports of the next adjacent chamber by a right angle for sequential registry with said mechanisms, means defining a central chamber about which said carrier is rotatable, said central chamber having two radial openings spaced by a right angle and registrable with adjacent pairs of said inner ports, a valve controlling one of said openings and an actuator for intermittently operating said valve, said opening mechanism including a compressed air nozzle registrable with the open ends of envelopes supported on said carrier, a pump having suction and discharge ports, a conduit interconnecting said suction port with said central chamber, a conduit interconnecting said discharge port with said nozzle, and an intermittent driving mechanism for shifting said carrier by quarter turns and energizing said actuator.

2. An envelope filling machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said opening mechanism includes a suction nozzle 6 adapted to retract a Wall of an envelope remote from said carrier, a conduit interconnecting said suction nozzle with said suction port, and means synchronized with said driving mechanism applying suction to said suction nozzle.

3. An envelope fillng machine as set forth in claim 2 comprising a control valve for each of said conduits, and actuating means for said control valves synchronized with said driving mechanism.

4. An envelope filling machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said opening mechanism includes a movably supported arm and intermittent actuating means synchronized with said driving mechanism for shifting said arm relative to said carrier to displace a portion of an envelope.

5. An envelope filling machine as set forth in claim 1 comprising a mechanical envelope clamping member supported by said carrier adjacent each of said outer ports and actuating means synchronized with said driving mechanism intermittently shifting said clamping members to envelope-gripping positions.

6. An envelope filling machine as set forth in claim 5 wherein oppositely disposed clamping members are interconnected to assume their gripping positions alternately.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,051,483 Jones Aug. 18, 1936 

